I will never forget the experience of Nathan being born a preemie. He couldn't regulate his body temperature and spent days in an incubator. He had severe jaundice and spent hours in the "tunnel". He was quickly losing weight and I wasn't allowed to let him nurse but rather had to supplement formula in a cup. We spent nearly two weeks in the hospital and I remember crying each and every single day. He had bruises all over his feet and hands from all of the blood tests. I didn't get to hold him or cuddle him because he had to be in the incubator. For a first time mother, it is one of the worst things that can happen to you. There is are very little words that can describe that type of helplessness.

Things didn't improve when we came home. He would cry - all the time. Who could blame him - he was hungry and wasn't allowed to nurse with a bottle. It would take us hours to feed him a few ounces. It was frustrating for everyone.

When Noah was born at "full term", I had no idea what to expect. I mean could a couple of weeks - 10 days really make such a difference. I feared the worst.

He took to nursing, but I was filled with self doubt. I wasn't able to nurse Nathan so I didn't know if I was even doing it correctly, but he gained weight. We were released from the hospital in five days. There was no jaundice. There was no need for an incubator. There were no blood tests. I was paranoid and kept asking the nurses and the doctors "is this normal?".

I am amazed at the tranquility that Noah has compared to Nathan. He wakes up once to eat at night. There is no formula, no bottles, no cups. There is no hysterical crying (from either him or I), and I feel like I know what I'm doing. I'm not sure if Nathan's prematurity had anything to do with this or they are just very different babies.

I hardly put Noah in his bassinet the first few days. I wanted so much to soak up all of the newborn magic that I didn't get to enjoy with Nathan. Those first few moments of life where the only thing either of us knows is each other.

I love the picture of the three of you. Although I'm a little worried about Noah's head. Is that a French thing to just let it flop around? Which would explain why Fred is like he is.John was a difficult baby from day one. And now he's a difficult 11 year old. Claire was a dream baby. And is now a dream 8 year old. Some things never change.Happy New Year Sweetie!m.

Oh, hon, I don't blame your concerns with Noah after having gone through what you did with Nathan. I would be the same if I were you.I'm glad you're able to soak the early days with your 2nd that you couldn't have with your first.I did find that my 2nd was much easier and things flowed better than it did with my 1st. However, my 2nd was a girl... maybe it's a girl vs. boy thing. :)

I hope you enjoy every single second motherhood has to offer with both of your little ones. xo

I'm so glad you are enjoying this time with little Noah. I'm always wondering how the 2nd baby is compared to the first. Hey I guess once you've had the tough road it is a lot easier after that...Nathan was just getting geared up for smooth sailing :)

Beautiful! This makes me very hopeful - Lilah was actually 10 days overdue, but still her newborn days were fraught with anxiety for me. It took a long time for my milk to come in after 50 hours + of labour and my pure exhaustion, and then she had reflux and pretty much stopped sleeping. I hope my anxiety level is far less the next time around, so that I get to enjoy all those beautiful new moments as you are doing with Noah.

I had no idea things were so rough with Nathan. What a blessing that he's come through all of that to be the beautiful little guy he is. How awesome for you that you now get to experience what you missed. Enjoy every second of your beautiful family. I know you are. :)

I'm so happy for you and your family that the experience is les anxious this time around. The feelings you experienced the first go around were not fair. Now you have an amazing and active big brother toddler and a baby who sleeps like a "baby" ;)

Love that last picture. It's hard to say why their first few weeks were so different. My two were slightly different but not extremes like yours. The difference is likely due to Nathan being a preemie.